{"product_id":"beethoven-piano-sonatas-vol-23","title":"Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1","description":"The workmanlike quality I've inferred from many of Gerhard Oppitz's recordings hardly prepared me for the sheer inspiration and commitment the pianist displays throughout his first installment of a projected Beethoven sonata cycle. Indeed, if Oppitz has made a finer disc, I have not heard it. The Op. 10 No. 1 sonata comes alive with brutal resilience and quivering nuance, capped by a finale whose true Prestissimo pulse never lets up in intensity. Some listeners may prefer a lighter touch in the Op. 10 No. 2 sonata's outer movements, yet you can't take issue with Oppitz's rhythmic equilibrium and sure sense of where the lines are going. Interestingly, Oppitz takes a less iconoclastic, more conventional route through Op. 10 No. 3's four movements (more comfortable basic tempos and symmetrical phrasing). Strokes of individuality--such as his surging scales and roulades in the outer movements--lift Oppitz's solidly played \"Pathétique\" out of the sonata's \"regulation model\" box. Perhaps the slow movement is a bit foursquare and downbeat oriented, but not ploddingly so. Keep tabs on this Beethoven cycle, and savor its impressive first fruits, despite a recording that's thinner and more constricted than Hänssler's best efforts.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Haenssler Classic","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49703874429208,"sku":"040888820123","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/793886_8bef7762-71e4-478f-bd4e-8584c9e34714.jpg?v=1777793094","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/beethoven-piano-sonatas-vol-23","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}